Chapter 6

Early the morning after his release from jail Garrett staggered from his bed—well, not so early actually, it was nearly noon—and made himself a pot of coffee. He sat on his covered balcony overlooking the main street of his hometown while he drank the bracing elixir. He decided to pack up his old Ranger FX4 and disappear to his camping spots along the stream running through his farm. He needed the solitude and calming influence of his little plot of ground before returning to his daily grind.

After his coffee pot was drained Garrett packed up the food he thought he needed for his three day stay and loaded everything in his truck. He normally kept his fishing gear and weapons in the truck so he was ready to go. Now, as normal, he wished there was a store in town where he could add to his food supplies and buy some alcohol but there wasn't. He made a slight detour to pick up those items he wanted but didn't have at home, then hurried to his camp.

When he got to his favorite camp spot, Garrett didn't tarry. He set out to erect his tent made from a couple of plastic tarps then laid his fire for later. He grabbed a beer and his chair then sat listening to the sounds he loved so. He watched the stream flow past and an occasional fish break the surface of the water in the deep pool beside which he camped. In the distance there was the sound of an old square bailer and tractor as one of the neighbors bailed a small field of alfalfa hay. Occasionally a cow would low or a rooster crow. Garrett felt the tension flow out of his tense body as the peace embraced him and he soaked up the calming country sounds.

As dusk was falling, Garrett rose and pulled his fishing pole from his truck. He searched around until he caught a few grasshoppers and a couple of grub worms then headed to the river to catch his supper and breakfast.

The fish seemed to bite the worms better than the grasshoppers. Within thirty minutes he caught two nice crappie and called it a day. One of the fish he left on a stringer for the morning, the other he quickly cleaned and took back to his camp for supper.

Before the next hour was up Garrett had prepared his supper of fried crappie, fried potatoes and onions and a small can of pork and beans, eaten it and cleaned up after himself. He laid out his sleeping bag and relaxed on it with his hands under his head as he listened to the evening sounds. There were all types of chirps, croaks and other sounds as the wildlife wandered around. He especially liked to listen to the splash of jumping fish and the spring peepers as night fell to cloak the land in relaxing darkness and silence not known in the cities or even in the small town in which he lived.

Garrett woke with the sun the next morning and quickly prepared his coffee. While the coffee perked he stripped and went into the super cool water for a relaxing swim to wash the grungy feeling of dried sweat off his body from the heat of the previous night.

Garrett didn't bother dressing after his swim. He poured his first cup of coffee and sat beside the stream drinking it. He relaxed while watched the fog rise from the water and glow whitely in the just rising sun. Birds flitted from place to place and an occasional fish splashed in the slowly flowing water. By the time the sun was completely up, Garrett drank his coffee pot dry and was ready to prepare his breakfast. He fried several slices of bacon, an egg and more potatoes and onions for the first meal of the day, deciding to keep the fish for later.

After breakfast was completed and the dishes washed Garrett pulled on a pair of old ratty shorts picked up his fishing gear and wandered down to the stream. Instead of fishing in the pool beside his camp, he unlocked the chain holding his old Jon Boat to a tree and pulled it into the water. He moved back to a small 4 X 8 building, unlocked it and took a two horsepower outboard motor and a gallon gas can from it. After attaching the motor to the boat he returned to the shed for padding for the seat on the boat and two oars for emergency use. He picked up his cooler filled with sandwich material and drinks for the day on his last trip to the boat.

Garrett started the motor and headed upstream at a slow pace. He relaxed back into the seat as the quietness of the river soothed him. Even the quiet operation of the boat motor wasn't that bothersome to him. He slowly made his way upstream past beautiful old trees and the occasional cow or calf. He was in shade almost the entire way because of the huge tree canopies hanging over the stream. Finally, almost two miles upstream from his starting point Garrett stopped the engine and let the boat coast to a stop at the head of a long deep spot in the stream.

As the silence of the morning enveloped him Garrett allowed the boat to find its own way back downstream as the slow current took charge. Instead of immediately beginning to fish he reached into his cooler and picked up his first beer of the day. He opened the can and leaned back in his seat after taking his first large sip. He stretched out his legs and relaxed as the banks of the stream slowly flowed past and he slowly enjoyed his beer. In moments, the boat gently grounded in the shallow water near the bank underneath a century plus old oak tree. Garrett let the boat rest there until he finished his beer then efficiently prepared his fishing rod for the first cast of the day.

As he tired of fishing in one spot, Garrett would use the oars to move his boat back into the current and let it drift slowly along. As the boat drifted, he continued to fish until the boat once again grounded at which time he would either push off again or sit and fish for a while. From time to time he would stop fishing and either have another beer or a sandwich and chips. He lost track of time completely. In fact, he hadn't even bothered to bring a watch with him on the trip, much less on the excursion.

It was late mid-afternoon before Garrett slowly floated into sight of his campsite. He had a stringer of his limit of crappie so decided to call it a day. He grounded his boat on the gravel bar beside his camp and began carrying his belongings up to the tent before he quit for the day.

When Garrett made his first trip up the bank he saw a familiar figure sitting in his chair drinking a beer. About the time he saw the figure, Kathy rose from the chair and said, "Damn you, Garrett, you worried me. Why didn't you tell me you were coming out here today? When you didn't answer your phone I got worried you got too drunk last night and fell off your balcony or something. I drove all the way to your place to check on you and you weren't there. I decided to come on out here to see if you were here and to check on you. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Kath. Sure felt like crap yesterday morning, though. I didn't even get up until almost noon yesterday. What time did the party end, anyway?"

"Don't know for sure. I woke up in my truck about 4:30 and everyone was gone so I drove on home. I haven't gotten that ripped in a couple of years."

"Yeah, me too. Sure glad the law didn't come nosing around. Who the hell brought all the beer and snacks anyway? I know a couple of the guys there weren't 21 yet and we all could have been in trouble over that. Sure glad the Mayor wasn't around to call the law on us."

"Oh, Yeah. That was one of the things I wanted to tell you. I heard on the radio this morning the Mayor was taken from the jail to the hospital. He mouthed off to one of the other inmates and got the bejesus beat out of him."

Garrett laughed and said, "Well, at least this time they can't blame me. Couldn't have happened to a better guy. He hurt bad?"

"They didn't say, just that he was taken to the hospital after a fight at the jail." A bunch of reporters were nosing around town just before I left this morning looking for you and bothering everyone wanting to know what we thought about it. I just blew them off after I said I had no idea where you were."

While the two were talking, Kathy helped Garrett carry his things back to the storage unit and secure his boat to the tree well above the flood line once again. They then began cleaning the fish to prepare them for frying.

Garrett washed his hands after the fish were dressed and grabbed a beer. He tossed it to Kathy and took one out for himself then sat in his chair to watch the stream flow past once again. Kathy pulled another chair up beside him and helped.

As the friends drank their beer they talked. After a few general comments Kathy looked over at Garrett and asked, "So, what now? You have a place to live so what are your plans from here on out? Are you ever going to finish the work on your apartment? And what about the Bank? What are you going to do on the first floor? You really need to do something about the old money and things in the vault. Those old bills and coins are really valuable, I bet. We still need to check out everything in the safe deposit boxes, too."

"Yeah, I know. I'm going to upgrade my apartment next but I don't have the money to do that right now and I want to do it right. I want a really nice place, but a comfortable one. I guess I'll see if I can find someone who knows about the old money and see if a collector wants it or something."

"Garrett, I'm sure a collector will want it. It's just a matter of finding out how you can unload it and get the best price for it. I think you need to call some auction houses in a large town that handle things like that and, maybe, some of the larger dealers to see what they think is the best way to sell the money."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I guess I'll go back early Sunday and begin looking into the boxes, then one day next week I'll see if I can find someone to tell me about the bills and coins."

"Can I help with the boxes, Garrett? I'd really like to see what's in them. And, maybe while you're working I could call around and do some research on the net to see if I can find someone to help you with the money."

"I don't care if you come when I open the boxes. And it would really help me if you would find someone to give us information about the money."

"Great. Now, how about I make us some supper before we get so drunk we can't do it?"

Kathy and Garrett had a very enjoyable supper once again. She refused to let him help cook or clean up so he sat and visited with her while she did the work. Of course as they talked they continued to drink and they drank with their meal. After the meal Kathy was staggering somewhat as was Garrett. They were at the stage where everything was funny and giggled at the most ridiculous things.

Kathy almost fell when she tried to sit in her chair beside Garrett. She regained her balance and looked around then said, "I don't think I can drive home right now Garrett. Do you mind if I crash here?"

"Naw, but I don't have anything for you to sleep on except a part of my sleeping bag. It's warm enough I never use it to cover up and sleep in my clothes."

Kathy giggled and said, "I don't care. Just don't be telling anyone you've been sleeping with me."

"Deal." Garrett stood and drained his last can of beer then staggered into the darkness. Kathy heard his urine stream splashing onto the ground and stood, staggering toward the darkness on the other side of the camp, where she accomplished the same task.

Garrett was already laying on the edge of the bed when she returned to the firelight. Kathy crawled onto the bed and lay down. "Night, Garrett," she said.

"Yeah, g'night," he returned. They both dropped off into alcohol-induced slumber almost immediately.

Garrett rose once during the night to relieve himself again. When he returned to the camp he threw a couple sticks of wood onto the coals to keep them live. Kathy's shirt had rode up during her sleep and he could dimly see her unencumbered breasts in the slight firelight and moonlight. He stared for a moment, thinking how beautiful they were. Hell, he admitted to himself, Kathy was just plain beautiful period. Even better, her beauty was inside as well as outside.

The next morning Garrett woke to find himself snuggled up against Kathy with his hand wrapped around her torso. His thumb was on the inner edge of her right breast, his hand just under it on her rib cage, slightly underneath her still rucked up shirt.

When he realized what he was doing, Garrett carefully tried to remove his hand and slid backward away from Kathy. As he was trying to rise from the bed carefully Kathy rolled onto her back and looked up at him with a smile. She made no attempt to pull her top down. She said, "Where are you going so carefully and quietly? You're almost sneaking off like someone doing something wrong."

"Uh. Well, I didn't want to wake you. I thought I'd make some coffee and then when you were ready to get up it would be ready."

"Yeah. I bet. You don't look so guilty because you were squeezing my boob do you?"

"Uh, look, Kath, I didn't mean to do it. I mean, I just woke up, and we were together. I'm sorry." Garrett cringed, imagining the outcry either his mother or Bitchy Bea would have made if someone had been so crass as to grope and maul one of them in their sleep as he imagined he had done to Kathy. It wouldn't matter in the least to them if the alleged mauling had been done in his sleep. He liked Kathy, but she was female after all and he expected a complaint, perhaps a loud and violent one.

To his eternal surprise, Kathy laughed and said, "Look, It's no problem. I'm the one who climbed into your bed. You aren't the first man who copped a feel and you are a damn sight better than some who have tried. Now, quit looking so guilty and let's do something."

When Kathy saw his shock at her answer she sat up and said, "Garrett, not all women are like your mother and sister. Don't get me wrong here, none of us like inappropriate contact or unwelcome attention but we both know you were asleep when you snuggled. Uh, you WERE asleep weren't you?"

"YES. I would never take advantage of you Kathy."

Kathy smiled and rose from the bed. As she walked toward the woods to take care of her morning business she said, "Why don't you get the coffee on while I commune with Mother Nature? Then maybe we can find something better to talk about."

Garrett watched in silent admiration as Kathy almost glided across the clearing and into the trees. He didn't think his cock could get any harder than it was when he woke up but it proved him wrong.

After they drank the coffee they had a light breakfast, cleaned up, then in the already hot day Garrett walked into the stream up to his neck and relaxed. Kathy watched him for a moment then pulled her shorts off and followed wearing only her shirt and panties. Garrett stared at her in shock as she waded out to him and looked into his eyes. "What," she asked. Am I not allowed to cool off, too?"

"Well, yeah, but you don't have on a swim suit."

"So? Do you? Hell, no. I trust you to be a gentleman, Garrett. Now can we just drop the subject, and can we leave before much longer? I would really like to mess around in the vault some before it gets too late."

"Yeah, I guess."

After they floated around in the water for a few more minutes Garrett regretfully headed for the stream bank. He dried off somewhat then carried his damp towel, the only one he had, back to the bank where he left it for Kathy. He stood watching her for a moment but left when she said, "Garrett, you've seen all I care for you to see. Would you please just go back to camp until I can get out?"

Garrett regretfully returned to the camp and began loading the things he was going to take home. He heard Kathy come out of the water and was not able to restrain himself. He turned to look at her. Unfortunately, she had already used the towel to wrap around herself, hiding the good stuff. She was carrying her shorts in her free hand.

"Ah, ah," Kathy said as she shook her finger at him. "You just keep on working there."

Kathy walked over to the tent and picked up her lightweight long sleeve shirt then disappeared behind the storage building. Sooner than he expected, Kathy returned with the shirt tied underneath her breasts and wearing her dry shorts. She carried her wet shirt and panties.

The two friends finished packing up and Kathy followed Garrett as they drove back to town and stopped at his house. They spent a few minutes carrying things upstairs and putting them away, then grabbed a tall glass of ice tea before they went downstairs and into the bank.

Kathy waited impatiently as Garrett opened the vault and rapidly followed him inside. She was almost bouncing in excitement as he opened the steel lattice folding door. He walked over to the key rack and pulled the keys down for the first locked box along with the banks key for the second keyhole in each box.

Garrett moved to the bank of safe deposit boxes and inserted the keys into the proper holes in the first box he was going to open. He felt movement then pressure on his left side as Kathy moved in close to him so she could watch as he unlocked the door and pulled the box from its slot in the bank vault. "Well, open it!" she exclaimed.

Garrett sighed and juggled the box around until he was able to lift the lid and look inside. Kathy stuck her head between his and the box to see what was there. The box contained a pile of papers but they could not tell what they were without removing them. Finally Garrett gently pushed her away and said, "Come on, Kathy, stop crowding me. Let's take this box into the main part of the bank and sit down at a table to go through it."

After they were seated Garrett took the papers out of the box and let Kathy grab them from his hand. She laid them on the table and picked up the top paper. She opened it and began to read. Garrett took the second paper on the file and did the same thing. They alternated picking up and reading papers until the entire pile had been reviewed.

Kathy slumped in her chair dejectedly and said, "Well that wasn't very exciting. All it was, was a bunch of old ledger pages. Why do you suppose they kept them in there? I thought it would be something pretty good."

"It might not be good now but they were important in their time. If you notice, they are ledger sheets for loans people had with the bank. They show the amount borrowed and each payment made. They probably had to keep the old records for a while in case someone needed them. All the pages I saw showed the loan had been repaid in full so I suspect they are historical records. You notice each showed the payment due date, the date the payment was made and late fees if any were assessed. There was a column for the principle, one for the interest, and one for the remaining balance.